I read in a thread here awhile back that Shake was reduced in price becasue Apple was ending it's life and replacing it with something new. Can anybody elaborate on this?

Apple is starting from the ground up and creating a new program. "Shake" may be dead, but Apple in the world of compositing is not.

Do you have any info on what the new program is and when it will be available? Also, will it be super expensive like Shake used to be?

See:

- http://www.fxguide.com/article359.html
- http://www.vfxtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6124

Why would it matter whether Shake is dead or not? Shake has done INCREDIBLE things in the past and that was before they even released 4.1! Shake is an absolute steal at $500, for now, I wouldn't worry about the next generation application that will take Shake's original spot, besides, that's still a ways off from being released. Enjoy what we've got now.

As others have mentioned in other posts elsewhere, the Windows version of Shake is STILL in use in production houses around the world.

Jack is exactly right. Shake is a fantastic product, and any future software will not change that. Shake works, and works well, so people will continue to use it.

Why would it matter whether Shake is dead or not? Shake has done INCREDIBLE things in the past and that was before they even released 4.1! Shake is an absolute steal at $500, for now, I wouldn't worry about the next generation application that will take Shake's original spot, besides, that's still a ways off from being released. Enjoy what we've got now.

As someone who has a very limited budget, it matters to me. Dead means no more upgrades, patches or future support. Dropping $500 bucks on dead software is just dumb. I guess I will stick with After Effects.

Not entirely.
Given Apple's pricing history, it's actually probably a really good idea to get Shake now, before a new, higher priced product replaces it.

Take Motion, for example.
It used to sell as a stand-alone package for around $300.
When Apple discontinued it as a stand-alone app made it so the only way to buy (or even upgrade to Universal) it was to but a full copy of Final Cut Studio, they provided a HUGE discount on FCS to Motion owners. As in, get the full, HD $1,300 Final Cut Studio Suite for $200 if you owned Motion.

So, ah, yeah ... a $500 or even $250 investment in Shake right now can payoff bigtime with upgrade deals when the next app comes out.

Besides, the nodal compositing approach you can learn by using Shake is applicable in other high-end compositing environments like Nuke and even XSI's compositing module.